Faded Footsteps
by A.B 808
Summary: A departure and sudden disappearance of a loved one scars an ingenuous girl and her outlook of Pokémon journeys. Nine years later, she reluctantly embarks on her own adventure to cogitate her life decisions, and then encounters a few allies and frenemies along the way. Will she be able to discover a love for adventure, or will she discern a drawback of walking in faded footsteps?


**So this is my first attempt at writing a Pokémon fan fiction. I've wanted to write one for a while now, but I had no idea where to start. I finally have the slightest idea of what I want to write, but if no one likes it, I won't continue it. I'll just go back to writing wrestling fan fictions. Well, with all said, I hope you enjoy this rather long prologue :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any familiar characters that may be mentioned in the future chapters. Only the original characters belong to me.**

**Full Summary:** _A departure and sudden disappearance of a loved one scars an ingenuous girl and her outlook of Pokémon journeys. Nine years later, she reluctantly embarks on her own adventure to cogitate her life decisions, and then encounters a few allies and frenemies along the way. Will she be able to discover a love for adventure, or will she discern a drawback of walking in faded footsteps? Ash/OC in the later chapters. Pairing might change though._

* * *

"Alright Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!"

The Blaze Pokémon obeyed the young trainer's voice and attempted a raging kick on a brawny Aggron, only for it to miss. The sun blazed brightly in the afternoon sky and the grass stems danced in the mild breeze. It was the perfect time of day for a Pokémon battle between father and son.

"Nice move Aggron," a much more older-sounding voice praised, "Now use Iron Tail!"

The teen groaned as the Aggron was able to successfully thump his Blaziken on the head with its steel, hard tail. He ran a hand through his dirty blonde locks while trying to devise a strategy on how he could weaken this steel beast. An idea suddenly came to him when his father decided to give Aggron another command.

"Use Rock Slide!"

The Aggron's body glowed, causing multiple boulders to appear out of the ripples of energy that were produced, and rain over towards the Blaziken.

"Blaziken, dodge those rocks!" the teen commanded.

The Blaziken obeyed and was able to dodge the rocks successfully, because of its Hidden Ability Speed Boast.

"Great job, Blaziken!" the teen pumped his fist in the air, "Now use Blaze Kick again, and this time, aim for Aggron's legs!"

The Blaziken nodded and attempted its raging kick again, only for it to stop abruptly when a Smoochum and a little girl with platinum blonde hair ran on the battlefield.

"Come back, Smoochum!" the little girl called out to the baby Pokémon with her little arms extended, "I just want to give you a kiss."

The teen pitched the bridge of his nose, "Sammi, could you and Smoochum play somewhere else? Dad and I are in a middle of a battle."

The little girl peered down at her feet, "I'm sorry. I'll be a good girl now. Come on Smoochum!"

She lifted the Smoochum into her arms and wandered away from the field, only staying close enough so she could watch the battle from a distance.

The two trainers and Pokémon watched them walk away and then eyed each other competitively,

"Shall we continue?" the teen's father questioned.

"We shall," The teen nodded, "Now Blaziken, use your Blaze Kick once more, and remember to aim for Aggron's legs!"

The Blaziken launched a fiery kick towards the beast's legs, causing it to trip and land on its face.

"Alright Blaziken!" the teen cheered, " Now use Overheat!"

The Blaze Pokémon released a powerful flamethrower from out of its mouth, but the Aggron rolled away before the move could hit it. Samara, otherwise known as Sammi, sat on the grass with Smoochum on her lap and watched intently as Blaziken and Aggron battled for supremacy. Her cerulean, blue eyes would widen in amazement each time Blaziken used its fire attacks and she fidgeted energetically every time Aggron would dodge Blaziken's moves and retaliated with a hard-hitting move of its own. The battle was a close one, but Aggron ended up the victor when Blaziken ran out of energy and collapsed on its knees.

"Aww man," the teen sighed. His Blaziken gazed at him with guilt-filled eyes, but he placed a hand on its shoulder to reassure it.

His father thanked Aggron for a good battle before returning it back into its pokéball and approaching his son.

"You two fought hard," he placed a hand on both his son's and Blaziken's shoulders, "But, there's still room for improvement."

"I know Dad. You tell me that all the time."

The teen's mother peeked her head from inside the house, "Lunch is ready guys! Come and get it!"

Their stomachs growled at the aroma that lurked outside of the door. The teen's father chuckled.

"Alright, we're coming April!" he then nudged his son, "Jaxson, go get your sister."

The teen nodded and returned his Blaziken back into its pokéball before heading out to look for Samara.

Meanwhile, the little girl was pretending to be a Pokémon trainer like her father and brother. She pointed at a tree as if it was a wild Pokémon.

"Now Smoochum, use Tackle!"

The baby Pokémon ran and collided into the tree trunk painfully. It was a bit dizzy after the collision, but it was able to get up.

"Now use Overheat!" the little girl demanded, remembering all of those neat fire attacks that she saw during her brother's battle earlier.

The Smoochum opened its mouth, but nothing came out. It looked over at Samara and shrugged.

"What's wrong Smoochum? How come you can't make fire?"

"Because Smoochum is an Ice-type Pokémon, not a Fire-type Pokémon like Blaziken."

The little girl turned around and saw her older brother walking up to her and Smoochum with a grin on his face.

"You're still playing pretend eh?"

Samara's face puffed up like a Qwilfish, "I'm not pretending! I am a Pokémon trainer! I'm the best of the best!"

Jaxson laughed, "Oh really? You have a long way to go before you become the best of the best. Then again, so do I."

He squatted down and ruffled the little girl's hair when she looked up at him questionably. He wasn't really expecting a five-year-old to understand his words.

"Come on, kiddo. Let's go eat our lunch."

Samara nodded before taking her brother's hand and walking back to the house with Smoochum trailing behind them. Jaxson smiled at his sister's giddiness when she saw a few Fletchling fly out of the trees. She really did love Pokémon and he knew that she would make an awesome trainer one of these days.

* * *

_A few hours later..._

"Samara, please don't scatter your toys in the living room," April told her daughter. "We have some guests that are coming over for dinner later."

The platinum-haired girl dropped her toy box on the floor and looked at her mom, "What kind of guests, Mommy?"

April motioned her daughter to sit next to her on the couch, which she did.

"Remember those famous Pokémon Professors we always used to see on TV?"

The little girl nodded her head, "Mmhmm. I remember they had grey hairs and beards. And they had lots of Pokémon."

April nodded, "Yup. And they're coming over for dinner tonight."

Samara's face lit up, "Wow! That means they'll bring us lots and lots of Pokémon too. I can't wait!"

The little girl grabbed her toy box and rushed to her room to put it away before her mom could say anything else. April smiled and shook her head before she continued to clean the living room with Smoochum's help. Then, right when the cleaning was finished and dinner was prepared, the doorbell rang, Everyone jumped on their feet and ran for the doorknob, but April was the first one there. She opened the door and there stood Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, and a young-looking man who seemed to be an aspiring Pokémon Professor.

"Good evening, gentlemen." April greeted.

The three men nodded their greetings before kindly stepping into the house. When April rushed into the kitchen to make coffee, Jaxson glanced over at the young-looking Professor.

"I don't recall ever meeting you before."

The young-looking Professor rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Professor Oak spoke up, "Well, my boy. Allow me to introduce you to Augustine Sycamore. He's an aspiring Pokémon Professor here in the Kalos region, and he has quite the potential I say."

Sycamore chuckled, "I'm flattered, Professor."

The coffee was brought to them, and then moments later, dinner was served on the table. They all started eating, but Samara couldn't really concentrate on her food too much, since she was too busy trying to eavesdrop on a conversation between her brother and the professors.

"So, have there been any leads on the Mega Stone research?" Jaxson asked while picking at his rice.

Sycamore shook his head, and the two other professors did the same, "Not at the moment, but if you would like to learn more about Mega Evolution, you can go to Shalour City to visit the Mega Evolution guru. I'm sure you'll learn a thing or two from him."

Samara tilted her head, confused by what they were discussing. What kind of stones were they talking about? And what on earth did they mean by Mega Evolution?

"Um, Mr. Sycamore?"

The aspiring Pokémon Professor turned his attention to Samara, "Is there something you wanted to ask me, petite fille?"

Samara raised her eyebrows at Sycamore's slight usage of French, but shrugged it off.

"What does evolution mean?"

Jaxson rolled his eyes, "Duh. Everyone knows that evolution is when a Pokémon turns into something different and becomes stronger. Quit butting into the adults' conversation."

The little girl huffed, "You're not an adult either, Big brother. You're only fifteen years old."

"Shall we continue this conversation in the living room?" the father leaned over and murmured so only the professors could hear.

They nodded and stood up from the table, motioning Jaxson to follow them.

"Stay out of this, Sammi." Jaxson told his little sister, before following their father and the professors into the living room.

Of course, Samara went to follow them, but her mom held her back.

"Samara, leave them be."

The little girl pouted, "But Mommy. I want to talk with the professors too."

April shook her head, "This conversation doesn't apply to you Samara. Just go to your room and don't disturb anyone."

Samara stomped out of the kitchen and went into her room. She slumped next to her bedroom window, where she spent some time gazing at the night sky and praying that she'll be old enough to go on her own journey soon. Sometimes, she really hated being little and she just wished that the years would go by faster so that she could be a grown-up already. She then got bored and crept into her brother's room to swipe some of his Pokémon for playtime.

* * *

_Later on that night_...

Jaxson opened the door to his sister's bedroom, and the sight before him was a bit surprising. His Gligar was snoozing away on top of Samara's bed with a tiara on its head and some lip gloss on its mouth, and his Corphish was lying next to it with glitter sprinkled all over its body. Samara fell asleep on his Blaziken's lap along with Smoochum, and his Ralts was asleep on her shoulder.

Jaxson laughed inwardly and began to look around the room, which was a total disaster. Teacups were scattered all over the floor, and the toy box was somehow flipped upside down. This room looked as if their dad's Aggron had shaken the ground with Earthquake.

He shook his head before deciding to tidy up a bit, so that he could at least have some walking space. He picked up a few teacups before gently shaking his sister's shoulder once he was able to get to her.

"Sammi, wake up."

The little girl began to stir, causing Smoochum, Ralts, and Blaziken to wake up from the movement. Blaziken stood up and Jaxson almost laughed out loud because it was wearing a tutu around its waist.

"Guys," Jaxson began, not knowing whether to be upset that his sister was actually playing dress-up with his Pokémon, or to laugh because it was so darn funny, "What went on in here?"

Blaziken and Smoochum looked at each other and shrugged, while Ralts jumped on its trainer's shoulder.

Suddenly, the little girl's eyes fluttered open, "Big brother?"

Jaxson took a seat on the floor, pulling Samara on his lap, "Yes. It's me...and I've got something to tell you."

The blonde-haired girl yawned, "What is it?"

Jaxson sighed before breaking the news, "Well, my Pokémon and I are going on a very long journey away from home, and we're leaving early tomorrow."

Samara's face lit up, much to his astonishment, "Really? I want to go with you!"

She leaped from her brother's lap and grabbed her school backpack, but before she could pack anything into it, Jaxson stopped her.

"No. You got to stay here with Mom and Dad."

Tears formed into the little girl's eyes, "Why do I always have to stay home with Mommy and Daddy? I want to go with you."

Jaxson tilted his sister's chin with his hand, "Hey, don't cry."

Samara pouted through her tears, "Why shouldn't I?"

The teen ran a hand through his locks, not knowing what else to say to her. Honestly, he was very disappointed that he wasn't able to take her traveling. But he and everyone else knew that this was going to be a grueling trip, not child-friendly at all. Besides, their parents had already arranged for her to attend a decent Pokémon school, and he didn't want his little sister to regret sacrificing that just to travel with him, when he knew that there will always be an opportunity for them to travel together in the future. Then, right at the right moment, an idea suddenly slapped him in the face like a Wake-up Slap.

"Hey Sammi," Jaxson grasped his sister's head to get her attention. "I tell you what? I'm going to keep in touch with you guys in any way that I can, and if I hear that you are being a good girl and taking care of yourself, then I promise I'll come back to take you with me on my journey."

Samara squealed in delight at the thought of being able to travel with her brother one day. Jaxson laughed a little while trying to calm the child down,

"Okay, settle down. For now, just promise me that you'll learn as much as you can in school."

The little girl nodded her head quickly, "I promise, Big brother."

The teen ruffled his sister's blonde hair, "Alright. I guess it's time for you to go back to sleep."

He recalled his Pokémon back into their pokéballs before lifting his sister into his arms and carrying her to her bed. He laid her down gently and ruffled her hair again.

"Goodnight kiddo. Take care of yourself, and watch out for Mom and Dad too."

The little girl nodded before closing her eyes. Jaxson smiled before slowly taking a few steps backwards until he was able to reach the doorknob. He took one last peek at his sister before slowly closing her bedroom door. He despised the idea of leaving his family for such a long period, but he knew that the professors were depending on him to help them with their research. Sighing, he sauntered back in his room to finish packing the rest of his stuff.

* * *

_A few hours later..._

Samara woke up to the sound of a car engine going off. Having a slight idea of why that car was there in the first place, she gazed out her window and saw her brother approaching a somewhat ghetto looking car. But before he could open the car door, he looked up, meeting his sister's gaze. He gave her a reassuring smile and a wave before entering the car. The little girl watched it sadly as it drove away from their house and out of Vaniville Town. Her gaze was so fixated on the car, that she didn't notice her parents sitting beside her on her bed, watching the scene also with the same downhearted looks on their faces.

Wanting to comfort them in some way, she wrapped her little arms around both of them while attempting to keep a smile on her face. Deep down, she really felt like crying, but she wanted to stay strong for her Mom and Dad, so she held her tears back. No words were exchanged during this time, because all they could do was hope that they wouldn't end up regretting their decision to allow Jaxson to go on this journey in the future.

Samara wasn't too sure about what the future could possibly hold, but she had an eerie feeling that she may not see her brother again. And this made her realize that she didn't want go on any kind of journey if it led to this kind of heartbreak.

* * *

**Well, this wraps up the prologue of my story. The reason for Jaxson's departure will be explained more in detail in the later chapters. If anyone has any comments, concerns, or any ideas for this story, feel free to click the Review button or PM me. Any type of review is welcomed, but try not to be too hard on me when it comes to criticism or flames. But other than that, feel free to correct me on anything or any mistakes that went by unnoticed. I'll try to update my stories as soon as possible, just as long as writer's block or life in general doesn't hold me back too much. **

**Well, enjoy the rest of your week, readers. Tune in for the next chapter of this story :)**

**(For your information, I don't know any French at all but according to Google, petite fille means little girl.)**


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